Packing means for internal-combustion engines



April 7, 1931. 1 E. GQUGH 1,799,294

PACKING MEANS FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed June 27, 1929 2Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

5* FRANK E. GOUGH,

E5 raw ATTORNEYj:

April 7, 1931. F. E. caoucau 1,799,294

FACKING MEANS FOR INTERNAL GCEIBUSTION ENGINES Filed June 27, 1929 2Sheets-5heet 2 I NVEN TOR.

FRANK E1. Gouew A TURN/5Y5,

Patented Apr. '7, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT mm FRANK E. GO'UGH, OFOKLAHOMA. CITY, OKLAHOMA, ASSIGNOR TO GOUGH AIRCRAFT CORPORATION, ACORPORATION OF OKLAHOMA I Application filed June 27, 1929. Serial No.374,229.

This invention relates to internal combustion engines of the characterof that shown in my Patent No. 1 737,082, dated November 26th, 1929,this application being a continuation, in part, of said patent, andbeing intended to cover the sealing elements, by means of whicheffective packing of all the moving parts is effected.

The engine of the present invent-ion, like the engine of the parentcase, has for its object to provide a deviceadapted to yield .themaximum efiiciency in operation in proportion to the weight of theengine. In accomplishing that object the engine is constructed to permitvariation of compression to meet the conditions existing, at any givenmoment, and to operate under high compression, under certain conditions.The engine is of the oscillatory type and presents a ver considerablepiston area and a very consi erable displacement. Consequently, it is ofvery great importance to insure that there will be no leakage of thegases. The problem is more than that of merely preventing the escape ofthe gases to the atmosphere. The real problem is to prevent the escapeof gas from one combustion chamber over into the other combustionchamber, and it is a --primar object of the present invention to soaccomp ish this end. I

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in thedetailed description which follows.

In the accompanying drawing: 35 Fig. 1 is a plan view of the engine withthe head thereo removed to illustrate the internal abutments and thepistons,

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view through the engine, on a linethrough the abutments, Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional viewthrough a portion of the piston carrying shaft and hull pistons.

Fig. 4: is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view on line 4r4 of Fig.3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Like numerals designate corresponding parts in all of the figures of thedrawing.

The engine of the present invention comprises a cylinder 5, having anupper head 6 and a lower head 7. A hollow shaft 8 is mounted by means ofanti-friction bearings 9 in the hubs 6 of the upper and lower cylinderheads, respectively. The shaft 8 is an oscillatory one, and it carries apair of opposed radially disposed pistons or vanes 11, which move fromthe full to the dotted line position illustrated in Fig. 2. 'Abutments12 extend from the cylinder head6 to the cylinderhead 7, and from theinner periphery of the cylinder 5 to the outer periphery of the shaft 6.The present invention relates particularly to the means for .maintainingfluid-tight contact between the inner faces of the abutments, and theouter periphery of shaft 8; between the outer edges of the vanes orpistons 11 and the walls of the cylinder; between the ends of thevvanesor pistons and the cylinder heads, and between shaft 8 and the innerperipheries of the hubs 6" K To this end, the pistons 11 are providedwith pairs of grooves or channels 13-43 at their opposite ends and withcorresponding channe s 14 along their outer edges. Each channel carriesa plurality, preferably three, packing strips, said packing stripsbeing, as a whole, of U-shape, with the leg portions of the 'U disposedin the chanhels 13-43" and the connecting portions disposed in thechannels 14. However, these packing strips are provided with lap-jointsin the connecting portions thereof, as indicated at 15, said lapjointsbeing staggered, as'indicated at 16. The inner ends of the leg portionsof the packing strips project downwardly behind split wear rings 15 thatare disposed in grooves 16, of the hubs. I prefer to dispose in the samegroove a beveled feeder ring 17. At a suitable point in thecircumference of the rings 15 and 17, the feeder ring 17 is cut back orrecessed, as indicated at 18, to permit the passage outwardly of pins19, said pins, in the oscillation of the shaft 8, work back and forth inrecessed portions 20 of the ring 15. By virtue of this construction, theshaft 8 can move through a portion of itstravel without turning the ring15, but will, through the remaining' 'portion of its travel, cause thering 15 to move with it.

The lower ends of the packing strips 13-13 may bear directly againstring 15, but I preferably provide the lower ends of these strips withwear sections 21, of a material softer than the metal of the ring 15 orof the cylinder head 7. The result is that the secti ns 21 wear awayrapidly enough to permit the springs 22 to always maintain the legs13-13 of the packing strips in tight engagement with the cylinder headand in tight engagement with the ring 15*.

Further, I may provide springs 23 to thrust against the inner ends ofthe legs 1313, the action of these springs, in conjunction with theaction of the springs 24, serving to thrust the runs 1 1 of the packingstrips into tight engagement with the inner periphery of the cylinderwall. The lap joints 15 permit such necessary bodily endwise movement ofthe sections of any given packing strip, to insure the tight engagementof the end sections 13-13 thereof, with the cylinder heads. Theoscillatory movement imparted to ring 15 by the action of pins 19, notonly brings about the desired wearing action between this ring and thewear elements 21, but it brings about a wearing action between said ringand the side of the groove in which said ring is seated, so that a verytight fit is had between these parts. In addition, when the pins reachthe ends of the cut-out portions 20 of the ring 15 they ride into thetapered end parts of said cut-out portions in such manner as to exert awedging action which thrusts the ring bodily toward the side wall of thegroove, and in o tight engagement therewith. As many additionalconventional split packing rings 25 may be employed as may be desired.

In packing the inner faces of the abutments, I provide a pair of grooves26-27 in said abutments, each of which receives a plurality, in thiscase three, of packing strips 28, which packing strips may have springsor any other resilient elements 29 mounted behind them to thrust themtoward the periphery of the shaft 8. These packing strips project be--yond the end-sot the abutments into recesses 29, formed in the cylinderheads-in such manner as to cause them to overlap rings 15 for aboutone-half the width of said rings.

Thus, the runs of the packing strips that are disposed in the grooves14, pack the pistons with respect to the cylinder walls. lhe runs 1313of the packing strips pack the pistons with respect to the cylinderheads, while the rings 15*, 17 and 25 pack the shaft with respect to thehubs, and leakage at the point of contact between the packing strips1313 and the ring 15 is prevented by the novel wearing action described.At the same time, leakage entirely around the ring 15 is prevented bysaid wearing action.

In like manner, the abutments are packed with respect to the shaft bythe elements'28" and associated parts, and these elements are, in turn,maintained in fluid-tight condition by the overlapping of their endsupon ring 15, as indicated at 29, in Fig. 2.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited with respect tothe number of packing strips, whether they are disposed in comprising acylinder, opposed cylinder heads, an oscillatory shaft journaled in saidcylinder heads, diametrically opposed vanes carried by said shafts,diametrically opposed abutments in said cylinder, packing means betweenthe inner faces of the abutments, and the outer periphery of the shaft,packing strips extending along the outer end and along each side of thevanes, packing rings carried by the shaft, and lying within, and havingperipheral contact with the opposed cylinder heads, the end packingstrips of the vanes projecting downwardly behind said rings.

2. A structure as recited in claim 1, said end packing strips beingprovided with soft wear pieces at their point of contact with saidrings.

3. A structure as recited in claim 1,. in combination with means forcausing said rings to turn with the shaft through at least a portion ofits movement.

4. A structure as recited in claim 1, in combination with pins carriedby the shaft and entering cut-away portions of the ring to cause thering to travel with the shaft through at least a portion of the movementof the latter, and to act to thrust the ring laterally.

5. An engine of the character described, comprising acylinder andcylinder head, an oscillatory shaft and radially disposed vane carriedby said shaft, a packing ring carried by the shaft, and means forcausing said ring to turn with the shaft through a portion of itsmovement while remaining stationary through the remainder of itsmovement.

6. 11 engine of the character described, comprising a cylinder, opposedcylinder heads, an oscillatory shaft journaled in said cylinder heads, asplit packing ring disposed in a groove of the shaft and peripherallyengaging the associated cylinder head, said ring having a cut-awayportion through a portion of its circumference, and members carried bythe shaft and projecting into said cutaway portions to cause the ring totravel with j the shaft through at least 'a part of its oscil- It is tobe understood that the in- 7. A structure as recited in claim 6, incombination with a feeder ring disposed in the groove with the saidpacking ring, said rings having inclined contacting faces.

8. In combination with an oscillatory shaft, a pair of radially disposedpistons carried thereby and having a plurality of grooves formed abouttheir edges, both at the ends and at the sides, a plurality of packingstrips disposed in each of said grooves, and means for thrusting saidstrips both radially and longitudinally with respect to the pistons, aspit packing ring disposed in a groove of the shaft, an element in whichthe shaft is jourdisposed in a naled and which is peripherally engagedby said packing ring, andmeans for causing the packing ring to turn withthe shaft through a portion of its stroke only.

9. A structure as recited in claim 8, in combination with a feeder ringdisposed in the groove with the aforesaid packing ring, and thrusting ittoward a side of the groove and toward the element in Which the shaft isjournaled, said first named ring being overlapped and engaged by theinner face of the end portions of the packing strips.

10. An engine of the character described,

comprising a cylinder, an abutment therein,

cylinder heads, a shaft mounted for movement in the cylinder heads, apacking strip roove of the abutments and bearing upon t e periphery ofthe shaft, the end of said packing strip being projected beyondthe endof the abutment and into a recess formed in the cylinder head.

11. An engine of the character described, comprising a cylinder, anabutment therein,

cylinder heads, ashaft mounted for move ment in the cylinder heads, apacking strip disposed in a groove of the abutments and bearing upon theperiphery of the shaft, the end of said packing strip being projectedbeyond the end of the abutment and into a recess formed in the cylinderhead, and a packing ring seated in a groove of the shaft, said packingring being atleast partially overlapped by said projecting end of thepacking strip of the abutment.

12. An engine of the character described, comprising a cylinder,cylinder heads, fixed abutments, an oscillatory shaft between theabutments, a plurality of packing strips carried by each of theabutments and bearing upon the oscillatory shaft, said packing stripsextending the full length of the abutments and projecting therebeyondinto recesses formed in the cylinder heads.

13. A structure as recited in claim 12, in combination with splitpacking rings carried by the oscillatory shaft and bearingcircumferentially upon the cylinder heads and being overlapped by theprojecting ends of the abutment carried strips.

14. In a packing structure for internal combustion engines, thecombination with a shaft, of a radially disposed piston carried therebyhavlng a groove along its side and end portions, a plurality of packingstrips in said groove, each of which, as a- Whole, is of general U-shapeformed by two co-acting L- shaped portions, which, at their confrontingends, are provided With lap joints, the lap joints of the several stripsbeing staggered with respect to each other, a split packing ring seatedin a groove formed circumferentially about the shaft, and an element inwhich the shaft is journaled and with which said ring makes peripheralcontact, the inner ends of the packing strips overlapping and beingengaged by said ring.

15. A structure as recited in claim 14, in combination with a projectingelement carried by the shaft and engaging in a cut-away portion of saidring and serving to cause the ring to turn with the shaft, through apor- 35

